Syrah, the noble grape of the northern Rhone Valley in the south of France, performs well throughout Sonoma County. It's wide spectrum of aromas and flavors can make it somewhat of a chameleon from one microclimate to the next, but it invariably rewards the true red-wine drinker. For over 100 years, Petite Sirah's origins were obscure and much disputed. After DNA fingerprinting research by Dr. Carole Meredith at UC Davis, Petite Sirah's heritage has been clarified: most of what we Californians call "Petite Sirah" is actually a variety known as "Durif" in France. And Durif is the offspring of Syrah and an obscure Rhone variety called Peloursin.

So Syrah and Petite Sirah are two distinct and different varieties of winegrape, but they are as closely related as possible. Why the "petite" name? No one is quite sure, since there is absolutely nothing petite about it!

	2006 Petite Sirah, Dry Creek Valley Hello darkness my old friend...deep, brooding, substantial...Zinfandel's best friend in a solo starring role. $32.00
	2005 Syrah, Dry Creek Valley True to its Rhone roots, wild yet civilized, 360 degrees of flavor! $30.00